A Kazakh waitress hands out the menu designed by a Belgian chef, for dishes cooked by a Frenchman. And the large bowl placed on the table contains a Korean delicacy: samgyetang, a broth flavored with ginger and jujube (a small Chinese date), in which a steaming chicken leg bubbles. Welcome to Anju, open in May. A restaurant in the lively Saint-Gilles district, in the south of Brussels, where, as in many establishments in the city, nationalities mingle in a great mikado of languages, cultures and gourmet dishes.
The recipes were established by the starred chef Sang Hoon Degeimbre, who draws wonders from his vegetable garden (shiso, spring onion, agastache) thrown in on Korean specialties. In the dining room, his French partner, Victor des Roseaux, broad smile framed by impressive sideburns, folds his tall figure, from table to table, to explain the menu. “Brussels is one of the most cosmopolitan capitals in Europe, and the restaurants reflect this diversity, he smiles. Here, there is a small Korean community: a 50-year-old lady came to test the samgyetang, she shed a tear because it reminded her of her youth. »
According to the Brussels Institute of Statistics and Analysis, the city has 179 nationalities, and 59% of its inhabitants were not born Belgian. “Brussels is a city of hybridization, develops Olivier Marette, responsible for gastronomy for the tourist office. Ten years ago, the gastronomic scene was a bit of a reflection of what was happening in Paris. Today, it goes in all directions: Vietnamese, Congolese, Mexicans… express themselves all the more freely since gastronomy, here, does not have the overwhelming weight that it has in France. »
Georges Baghdi Sar, born in Syria and arrived in Belgium at the age of 11, built an empire with Middle Eastern flavors in just a few years. After C’Chicounou and My Tannour, this tireless woodsman launched Kamoun a few months ago, in the Ixelles district. In the room saturated with laughter and pop music, with its touch-touch tables and its impressive plates to share, you have the feeling of participating in a big banquet of friends. The meal is a celebration (if you are not attached to local and seasonal products).
As an appetizer, a waiter places a mortar on the table containing olive oil, cooked garlic, coarse salt, lemon thyme and zaatar, all to be mixed, then sauced with challah bread (brioche, braided). The meal hasn’t really started and we’re already stuck! Then gigantic sea bream in a salt crust, lamb shanks placed on thick mattresses of semolina, hummus loaded with vegetables… We leave with our belts loosened to the last notch.
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